Desecrate
by eremin
Summary: Firepaw could see Greypaw shuffling around under the tree he currently resided in. Greypaw quickly bent down and picked the sparrow that lay on his feet back up before walking away. What was he doing? /No pairings. One-shot.


**Alright, so, here's my first fanfiction! It's something I came up with on the spot, but I felt the need to get my account up and running. I will most likely be posting a number of Warriors fanfictions in the future, since that seems to be what I'm best at writing. I'll also be trying to write numerous FullMetal Alchemist stories, but the ones I've started on have lead to dead ends and unknown plots, so I'll see what I can do there.**

**Now that that's all said and done, please enjoy my story! :)**

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Warriors, they belong to the Erin Hunter's.**

"**All fables, indeed, have their morals; but the innocent enjoy the story."  
>~<strong>_Henry David Thoreau_

All fables, indeed, have their morals; but the innocent enjoy the DETAIL »  
>Firepaw gently set his paw on the soggy earth, his senses sharp and searching for any sign of movement. The leaves above him rustled gently in the breeze, and the wind caressed his sleek orange fur. He brought his head down closer to the ground, narrowing his eyes. A small brown lump was sitting a few paw steps away. Getting back up, he quickly trotted over to the brown shape, which was quickly revealed to be a mouse. It was already dead, its neck snapped in an odd angle, blood pouring out of its tiny mouth.<p>

_Why would someone leave a perfectly good piece of fresh kill out here? _Firepaw thought, eyeing the small form suspiciously. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it, however; it was almost as if the hunter before him had given the neck a swift bite then ran off. _Well, a catch is still a catch._ Firepaw thought, nodding. He quickly kicked up dirt behind him with his hind legs, and then prodded the mouse over with his nose. He gave it one last hit with his foreleg before it tumbled into the small gap. After shuffling dirt back over his new found prey, he decided to try up in the trees instead of searching the ground. He walked over to a nearby tree and hoisted himself up, his claws digging into the bark in front of him. He quickly wriggled his way up until he was a sizeable distance above ground. _Now, let's see…_

There wasn't much to see up there. No birds seemed to be in any of the nearby trees, and the closest one that he could see was high up in his own tree. He would go after it, but the bird was on a branch that seemed much too fragile to hold his mass. Firepaw saw that a branch from a nearby tree was close enough to jump to, and decided to go there. Bunching up his muscles, he prowled forward on his own branch before kicking up his hind legs and springing to the next branch. Landing on all fours, he walked over to the tree and grabbed hold again, carefully climbing down until he could reach another branch that would hold his weight. He found one rather quickly, and jumped down onto it. He laid himself flat on the bark, so he could scan the ground safely without being too vulnerable.

Suddenly, a small silhouette pounced into view, its paws clutched over something that was wriggling underneath it. The creature was giving out high notes of rage and fear, and Firepaw recognized it as a sparrow. The cat's claws sprang out and immediately silenced the sparrow's cries. The cat got back up, clutching its prize in its mouth, and walked through the clearing. Stepping into a patch of sunlight, Firepaw saw that the cat was none other than Greypaw. Greypaw looked around, seemingly looking for something, before walking to where Firepaw saw the mouse. He got down and peered around, before getting back up and growling. It hit Firepaw right then; the mouse he had buried not long before was Greypaw's. Silently chuckling to himself, he got up and sprang down from his perch, landing right behind Greypaw. Greypaw whirled around.

"My Starclan, you scared me," he said, relaxing his tense muscles when he realized it was only Firepaw. Firepaw looked down at the sparrow that lay in front of Greypaw's feet, and chuckled again.

"Greypaw, you really don't take care of your prey well," Firepaw mewed, watching as Greypaw haphazardly threw the sparrow into the bushes beside him. Greypaw shrugged.

"I've been trying to stock up as much prey as I can, and digging holes everywhere then going to reopen them later is just too much work," he replied, kicking one of the sparrow's legs back into the bush after it tumbled out. Firepaw shook his head.

"I can't believe you! Don't you realize how easy it is to find prey just laying around? I buried your mouse earlier, by the way, if that's what you're looking for," Firepaw added, watching as Greypaw once again crouched down at eye level with the ground. He straightened up as soon as he heard this.

"You buried it? Where?" He asked, looking around for any unnatural mounds of dirt. He didn't give Firepaw a chance to reply as he found it, before quickly racing over and digging it up. Clutching the mouse proudly in his jaws, he ran back over to his sparrow and collected that as well. "Is' almos' time fo' us to go back, so we migh' as well go get the res' now," Greypaw said, his voice muffled by the critters in his mouth. Firepaw nodded and followed Greypaw as he left the clearing.

Soon they were deeper into the woods. Greypaw swiveled his head around, the creatures in his mouth flapping this way and that. He padded forward a bit more before making a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. Setting down the sparrow and the mouse, he beckoned Firepaw over.

"Look at this!" he cried, pointing his tail to a pile of fur and blood. "Someone must've come here and found my mouse from earlier, I can't find it anywhere!" He walked forward a bit more before diving his head into another bush. Firepaw could hear him growl as he ripped his head out and turn to Firepaw, his eyes burning with anger. "My shrew is gone, too!"

Firepaw gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "Sorry to hear that. Why don't we head back? It's starting to get late…" Firepaw said, looking up at the sky. It was starting to turn a deep crimson color, and the sun was starting to quickly sink behind the trees. Greystripe growled again and trotted forward, grabbing the mouse in his jaw none too gently, all the while muttering profanities under his breath. Firepaw grabbed the sparrow and quickly fell in step behind his friend.

By the time they got back to camp, many of the warriors and apprentices were milling about, either sharing tongues or eating in groups. Greystripe and Firepaw were about to run over to Ravenpaw, who was eating quietly under the shadow of a nearby pine tree, when Tigerclaw stepped in front of them.

"Where have you been?" He growled, his teeth barred as if they were threats. Greypaw dropped his mouse and stared up at Tigerclaw defiantly.

"We were hunting," Firepaw said, which was true, save for their end meeting.

"And all you managed to bring back was this?" Tigerclaw spat, glaring at the prey on the ground at if it was dirt between his claws. Greypaw bristled.

"Well, we would have brought back more if that stupid fox didn't come by and decide to eat the rest of it!" Greypaw spat back. Tigerclaw glared at both of them one more time, before muttering 'You're not worth my time' under his breath and stalking away. Greypaw let out a sigh of relief.

"He's a scene, isn't he?" Greypaw asked, watching Tigerclaw's retreating form. "I wouldn't be surprised if none of the Warriors can stand him. You've seen the look Lionheart gives him, don't you? Lionheart may be a kind cat, but you can just tell that his patience is being tested when he's forced to work with Tigerclaw." Firepaw nodded before picking up the sparrow and making his way back over to Ravenpaw.

Ravenpaw's head shot up at the sight of Greypaw and Firepaw, and it was hard to miss the flash of evident relief that flew across his face.

"Thank Starclan you're here! I thought you got eaten by a badger or something." Greypaw snorted.

"We're not that stupid, Ravenpaw," he mewed, giving Ravenpaw a playful cuff around the ear. Firepaw sat down comfortably by his two friends before glancing over at Greypaw.

"Now, Greypaw, do you see why you need to bury your prey? Unless you want to be told off by Tigerclaw each time you come into the clan with nothing more than two morsels of food," Firepaw said, prodding his sparrow. Greypaw grinned sheepishly and nodded.

"You're right; I'll definitely do that next time. It's better than facing Tigerclaw's wrath. I swear, the cats a lunatic."

Ravenpaw seemed to bristle at this statement, his pupils dilating slightly, but didn't utter a word.


End file.
